Hernandez brings more than 25 years of managerial experience in human resources in both public and private sectors to his new post at the state-supported research university.

Hernandez has held numerous administrative positions with several national corporations, including US West, Coors Brewing Company, and Storage Technology, and with state, county and city government agencies, and school districts and community colleges in California.

He has also served as an employee relations consultant to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada, and as an employee relations administrator for a New Mexico pueblo.

Hernandez is considered by his peers to be an expert in employment discrimination investigations, having conducted almost 400 such investigations during his career. He has lectured extensively at universities and conferences on various human resources topics, such as “Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action,” “Dispute and Conflict Resolution in a Diverse Workforce,” “Sexual Harassment,” and “Conducting Internal Investigations.”

While employed at the Coors Brewing Company, Hernandez was also a member of the Coors Speakers Bureau, traveling throughout the United States to speak at various venues on equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and workforce diversity.

“I feel fortunate to be working for such a prestigious institute,” Hernandez says. “New Mexico Tech seems to always receive high rankings in academic circles.

“Although I’ve been retired, I now welcome the challenge of working once again in the field of equal employment opportunity/ affirmative action,” he says. “While New Mexico Tech’s workforce is much smaller than those I’ve encountered at the larger corporations I’ve worked at, I can assure everyone working at Tech that anyone who steps in my office will be treated with the utmost respect and dignity, regardless of surrounding circumstances.”

Hernandez will be assisted in his new post by Joye Brawley, Affirmative Action Compliance Specialist, who has been working in New Mexico Tech’s Office for Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action for the past year.